Fairy dusts and goblins
by JammyWammy
Summary: Who knew that planning a birthday party would be so complicated? Specially for an awkward blond swordsman who had no idea about those things? From glitter bag shopping to annoying and nosy cashier ladies, what else can go wrong? Follow Cloud and his misadventures in helping Tifa with everything and hopefully, it will bring them closer together.


**Final fantasy VII and it's character are solely owned by Square-enix. (Formerly Squaresoft). This story takes place months after DOC. Marlene will be eight and Denzel is ten.**

"A birthday party?" A perplexed looking Cloud tilted his head to side at the question, which was very uncharacteristic of him and it made Tifa press her lips together to suppress her laugh.

 _How adorable is that?_

"Yeah, a party for Marlene, next week is her birthday already."

"But... Kids... Everywhere..." He whispered the last word without looking at the brunette, his eyes were wide while he stared at the counter top. Tifa was struggling to stop herself from bursting out laughing at the look of absolute horror on his face. She wished she had a camera so she could take a picture and have it framed.

"Yeah, well, it's a kid's party, what do you expect?" She decided to turn around to avoid looking at the blond's still perplexed look because she knew she was going to lose it any second.

"Ummm..." He scratched the back of his head. "Alright? What do we do?"

"Right, first off, the decorations would be done by hand from scratch, her theme will be a princess party so there'll be a lot of pink and glittering stuff." She said with a smile without looking at him so she didn't get to see how he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Pink and glittery... Okay...?" He said unsure.

"Cloud," She sighed then turned around to face him. "I know you're not used to these things, but this will be the first time we threw her something like this." She said looking directly now at his face which was sporting a blank look towards her.

"Yeah, yeah I know that." He said while he waved his hand.

"Good, Yuffie will be here until the party to help out with everything. We'll be needing to set up the long table for the food as well as dress those chairs and tables in the bar with the colors pink and white. And the dessert and sweets bar for the kids, there will be a chocolate fountain as well."

"Yuffie plus sugar high kids..." He mumbled with a pout which made Tifa closed her eyes while she pressed her lips together. He was just too adorable not to laugh at and she was really struggling now.

"We'll have to make an arch of pink and white balloons for the front door, and the balloons to be scattered everywhere, a big banner with a happy birthday Marlene written in it, hire a clown who can do magic tricks at the same time and arrange the sequence of games that the kids would play, Oh, and also the loot bags for the kids to take home, there will be toys, candies and other things in there." She said said her speech while busying herself with a few glasses behind the bar and when she looked at the blond warrior in front of her, she suddenly roared with laughter at how his mouth hanged open and his beautiful blue eyes looked like they were going to jump out with a small popping sound, grow some feet and start to run for their lives, like those running eyeballs in the cartoons that Denzel and Marlene are watching. Cloud furrowed his brows at her in confusion.

"What's so funny?" He asked which made her laugh harder.

"N-Nothing...! Oh goodness." She took a deep breath. "I'm just gonna... Go call Yuffie and check what time she'll be here." Then she started to walk away from the dumbstruck blond while still laughing a little.

* * *

Cloud had just finished his deliveries for Kalm and on his way back to Edge for some local deliveries before heading home, he smiled slightly at the thought of being home early, maybe relax and watch a little television after he was done mapping his route for the next day, and a relaxing shower after eating Tifa's delicious cooki-

His thought were cut off when his phone rang, he stopped on the side of the road to fish out his phone, he saw that it was Tifa calling so he answered immediately.

"Hello?"

"Cloud! Thank goodness you answered." He furrowed his brows.

"Something wrong?"

"Well, yeah..." He raised an eyebrow. "Yuffie forgot to pick up the balloons and bag of glitters at the arts and craft shop here in Edge. You know Marlou's Arts?"

"Yeah, I know that one."

"Great! Can you please pick up the items? They are easy to find, a pack of white and pink balloons, a bag of silver glitter and 3 tubes of glue." He could feel her smile on the other end of the line. She must find it amusing that the greatest hero in all Gaia with a big sword will be shopping in a place filled with glittering things. Or maybe she even did it purpose that he was the one to go there, he narrowed his eyes at the thought.

"Okay... I'll go get them." He said in monotone and he can hear Tifa's muffled giggling.

"Alright, thanks Cloud! Love you!" Then there was a click. His eyes widened at the last thing she said, he was so shocked that he didn't remove the phone from his ear and stayed like that for a few seconds. Tifa on the other hand had clasped her hand unto her mouth and her ruby eyes were about to bulge from what she said.

"Idiot!" She scolded herself before storming away from the house phone.

Cloud absentmindedly walked on the sidewalk after he had parked his fenrir near the crafts store, he was still distracted by Tifa's last words on their last conversation.

 _Love you!_

 _Love you!_

 _Love you!_

 _Love you!_

It was echoing on his head for a while now while sporting a dumb look on his face. When he finally reached his destination, he slowly looked up, his face not changing, he slowly turned then went over to the main entrance of the glittering shop, he opened the door and the bell chimed from above, his dumb expression were instanltly changed to grimace when he finally saw everything inside, and he was starting to regret coming in, he was like an ugly goblin in the middle of an enchanting fairy forest.

"Can I help you sir?" He looked at the source of the voice and he saw a blond haired cashier who was batting her eyelashes at him, he gave her a confused look which made her face fall.

"Ah, yeah... No, I can do it myself, thank you." Then he started to go to the small aisles to get what he needed so he can run out of there before somebody sees him. He could see from the corner of his eyes that the cashier was following his every move and it made him extremely uncomfortable. When he got everything, he hurriedly went over to the cashier, who was sporting a flirty smile for him, and slammed everything in front of her, the girl jumped at his sudden aggression then he leaned his forearm in the desk to wait for her to finish. She looked at all the items her got then to him along with a questioning brow.

 _What the hell?_ He thought.

"Pink balloons and a bag of silver glitter?" She said while she scanned the items.

 _What is she? An investigator?_

"Well, yeah... it's..." He thought for a while. "For my... Daughter's... Party." The cashier suddenly stopped and look at him in shock. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"You have a daughter?" She asked, her face shows all the hurt in the world while he inwardly rolled his eyes.

"Yes...?" He said, suddenly unsure if he said the right thing. But he didn't want to answer more questions about his complicated family situation so he made it easier for him, but she ended up asking more questions, to his dismay.

"How old is she?" She asked while she printed the receipt.

"Turning eight." He said in monotone. She looked at him again and studied his appearance, a blush can be clearly seen but he ignored it.

"How old are YOU?" She suddenly asked which made him groan on the inside.

"...Old enough." Was all he said. She raised an eyebrow again at him.

"Huh. Do you have a picture of her?" She asked while she dumped everything in a paper bag. Cloud sighed and started to retrieve his wallet to show her the family picture, then he shove it under her nose and pointed his finger at Marlene.

"That's her." He said with a blank look. Then her eyes widened in an alarming rate then looked at him again.

"You have two kids?" She asked in urgency but Cloud's face remained blank while he looked at her.

"Ye-"

"And that's your wife? She's beautiful." She said with a smile but it was clearly fake and dumb looking, then she looked up again at the blond warrior in time for her to see a blush slowly growing on his cheeks while still sporting a blank look. She snorted at the sight. Then he close his wallet shut then put it back to his pocket before grabbing the bag of items he had just purchased then went out the door without even saying thank you, leaving a dumbfounded cashier behind.

He was on his way to his beloved Fenrir and the dumb look he was sporting before came back and this time, it was a different thing that was echoing inside his head.

 _That's your wife? She's beautiful._

 _That's your wife? She's beautiful._

 _That's your wife? She's beautiful._

 _That's your wife? She's beautiful._

* * *

Tifa was all smiles while she stirred the soup that was boiling in the pot, it was almost dinner time and they've had a busy day, Yuffie was sitting on one of the bar tables while she did some of the decorations with Marlene and Denzel watching her while they animately conversed with her, the princess would laugh occasionally at what they were saying while she busied herself with her craft. Aside from cooking dinner, Tifa was also trying out a cake recipe that she would be baking for Marlene's birthday, she hummed while she whisked the cake batter carefully until she got the perfect consistency, then she suddenly remembered what she had said to Cloud on the phone and it made stop her whisking and blush furiously.

 _How am I going to face him now?_

"That looks good." The masculine voice behind her made her yelp and throw the bowl with the cake batter in the air while her head collided with her offender's chin, his teeth clacked together loudly then he moaned in pain. She hastily turned around to be greeted by a blond swordsman, who was clutching his chin with a mixing bowl toppled on top of his head, amounts of delicious goo slowly dripping down his hair and face. The three people behind them started to roar with laughter while Tifa tried so hard to stop hers.

"Oh my...! I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed while she frantically removed the bowl from Cloud's head but it slipped from her fingers that it fell down again and collided with the blond's head then to the floor.

Clang! Thud.

"I'm sorry!" She said again then hurriedly closed the stove before she grabbed the blond's hand to get him to the bathroom upstairs and clean him up. When they have reached the bathroom, she frantically switch on the lights then unbuckled his shoulder guard and sword sheath, then his dust skirt, then she unzipped his sweater then started to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his pants. Cloud on the other hand was frozen on the spot at what was suddenly happening, Tifa was undressing him and he was mentally slapping himself for enjoying it secretly.

He was only on his boxers when Tifa pushed him towards the shower then opened the faucet and he yelped when cold water collided with his skin. Tifa was sent into panic mode again specially when she suddenly realized that she had actually undressed the blond down to his boxers.

 _Seriously?! What's happening to me?! First I blurted out that I love him! And now-_

But she didn't get to finish what she was thinking because the blond had pinned her to the wall while trying to avoid the cold water, She looked up at his face in shock while he mirrored hers, then her breath hitched when he suddenly became all serious, his eyes were piercing through her soul and with that, she mirrored his expression and before she knew it, he was leaning forward slowly with his eyes closed, a small amount of cake batter fell from his hair to his slightly pouted lips, her eyes widened again in response and before he could close the distance,

"Tifa!"

Marlene called out from downstairs which casued her to duck down and hurriedly run towards the stairs and it caused the blond to collide his forehead to the wall with a thud.

"Ow..." He held his hand to his throbbing forehead then started to rub it slowly, batter spreading everywhere he touched, then his face turned to absolute horror at what just happened.

 _Crap._

Tifa on the other hand was not really listening at what was Marlene trying to tell her because her mind was elsewhere, in the bathroom, where the almost naked, sexy blond warrior almost kissed her, and she had missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

 _Crap._

It was going to be awkward from then on.

The next few days was spent on trying to avoid each other, they would sometimes catch each other's gaze but both would quickly look away with a blush on their faces. Tifa was thinking on talking to him but she was too embarassed, and she hope he would make a move first, which was unlikely to happen. Thankfully, the day of the party had arrived and they needed the distraction.

Kids and parents were already making their way inside the bar, which was set up for a princess theme party, everyone was happily yelling, and some of them was already attacking the candy bar while their parents dragged them away from the table. The orphans who were also invited on the other hand was being stopped by Yuffie.

* * *

"What...?" Cloud whispered to himself as he held the peculiar garment in front of him to scrutinize.

 _She said it was kiddie party, but she didn't tell me that it going to be a costume party?!_ He thought with a perplexed look. He had found the box on his bed that morning with a note.

 _Cloud,_

 _Sorry I didn't got the chance to tell you, but you have to wear this for the theme._

 _Tifa_

"You've got to be kidding..." He didn't finish his sentence and he sighed. He just went on with it and started to undress to put on his costume. When he was done, he stared at himself in the mirror with a frown. Just then, a knock on the door can be heard and he went over to it to answer it, his breath hitch at what he was seeing.

Tifa was wearing a purple ball gown, with a long sleeve and tight fitting bodice, her hair is done in an half updo with long curly locks draping down her shoulders. And she wore a tiara on her head. She looked really lovely and it made him blushed. She however smiled at him.

"There's my king." She said while she extended her hands to adjust his crown then his red cape. He was frozen on his spot again when he remembered their bathroom encounter from before.

"S-So... You're my queen...?" He asked with his eyebrows raised, trying to start a conversation. She blushed at what he said. She liked the sound of that.

"Well, yeah... Marlene and Denzel are our little Princess and prince so..." She said quietly while she looked down, her cheeks sporting a little blush, then she looked up again and she saw him giving her a wry smile with his head tilted a little, she smiled back. Then he stood straight then extended his arm to her, which she took while she giggled. He smirked at her then they started to make their way downstairs. Cloud was enjoying Tifa's touch but their happy moment was cut short when they were greeted by running, wild kids once they were downstairs, Cloud's face changed into horror when he saw everyone in their AVALANCHE crew staring at him while they all laughed, Barret was even guffawing while he slammed the table in front of him. Cloud's nostrils flared up. But who are they to talk? Or rather, laugh?

Barret was dressed up as a king as well, since he was really Marlene's dad, while Cid decided to dress as a knight in shining armor and Shera was wearing a medieval princess costume, Vincent however didn't bother to dress up and was wearing his usual red and black clothes, well, only a little, Cloud wanted to laugh at the huge gold crown that was slightly titled on his head, and it earned him a question from Yuffie if he's supposed to be the coffin king or something, much to the gunslinger's annoyance, while Nanaki was wearing a red fury cape with a small crown as well. Reeve on the other hand was the star of the show, he was dressed as a jester, yellow and purple in color and it made Cloud wince slightly, who knew that the president of WRO would wear something like that. Yuffie was clearly afairy princess since there were fairy wings on her back and her dress was shorter then the others. Marlene looked pretty in her pink princess ball gown while Denzel was rather handsome dressed as a prince.

His thoughts on his friend's ridiculous outfits was cut short when a kid's head collided in the area of his body that shouldn't be touched, or bumped. He emitted an 'oomff' sound then he hastily clutched he precious beloveds down his pants while he knelt down, his face showing all the misery and hurt in the world.

"Oh my Gods! Are you okay?!" Tifa yelled at him while their friends started to laugh hysterically, Vincent was even sporting a grin, which was rare. Very, very rare. She knelt down to his height while she glared at their comrades, who all clamped their mouths shut.

"I..." He said in a shaky voice, then his face suddenly changed to seriousness when he realized how close Tifa's face is to his, and without further ado, he grabbed the back of her head and took her lips to his own. Tifa was greatly shocked but returned the kiss after a while, parents' were covering their children's eyes but they were all smiling, everyone was frustrated at the relationship between the two planet's heroes and they didn't mind that they kissed right there and then, the whole AVALANCHE team were cheering and doing cat calls, Cid was even whistling.

"About fuc- Mmmmph mmmmpp!" His words were muffled by his wife before he could say something inappropriate in a kid's party. The two slowly pulled away while they smiled at each other sweetly. Who knew that planning a birthday party could bring them both together like that?

"My queen..." He said with a smirk while she giggle.

"And you are my king. Always have been."


End file.
